Characters: Charlie, Dar (Buse), Skit (Gaunt) Setting: 9:25PM, abandoned building then gallery, Winter. Previous Threads: N/A Plot Summary: Three thieves have been hired to work together to steal something old, powerful and valuable. Shenanigans ensue. Let's hope they don't end up getting caught or worse.
She didn’t like this. She didn’t like this one bit. This whole situation had a high chance of being a trap and here Charlie was walking right into it. Nigel said the client was clean, his tastes were expensive and he’d used many thieves before. Why he suddenly wanted her to team up with two others was what made it suspicious. What was it about this job that made him think she couldn’t do it on her own? It was just some old relic, right? Though Nigel didn’t say he was against the team up when he told her about it. Said the security was tighter than most. Whatever, she thought rolling her eyes, they probably think I’m too green to do this myself.
After chowing down on enough food to last her the job she started making her way to the meeting place. There was an abandoned house on the corner of 23rd and Clark near the gallery the heist was to take place, used to be an old office building till the floor collapsed or something. Contractor cut corners making the building a little unstable and getting it foreclosed with no chance of reopening. Perfect meeting place, perfect hiding place too.
Charlie pulled her bandana up over her face and gathered all her hair in the black beanie, pulling her goggles down she flew over to a broken window and slipped in. She kept to the ceilings, weaving around exposed rafters before sitting on one. Was she the first to arrive? If so then she was totally gonna ninja the other two when they arrived. They’d be all talking about the third party and sharing details then–BAM!–she’d drop from the ceiling like a boss!
Leaning back against the slope of the rafters she waited for her team members. She really hoped this didn’t turn out like her last team up. Only she managed to escape that one and just barely.
Skit was still new in town, but Nigel hadn't steered him wrong yet. When Nigel said he had a smashing opportunity to make some good money, Skit wasn't going to turn that down. He wished he knew more ahead of time, but he was still in. Anything Nigel was this hype about had to be good. The rat dressed simply for this, all in dark gray. Hoodie, sweatpants, gloves, even foot wraps for the cold. Sometimes he wished they made shoes for feet like his, but the wraps were quieter anyway. Came in handy in his line of work. He tossed on a vest over it, tucked his knives into their sheaths, and headed out.
The place was pretty unassuming. Just some run-down, abandoned house. Pretty typical for this line of work. Skit remembered he was supposed to be meeting a couple other thieves there to team up on this heist. He wondered if he was the first one there. There were no cars parked nearby, but that was no indicator. A lot of sneak thieves walked or took public transit. It was a good enough business to make a living in, but it was hard to save up enough for a decent car. Crime did pay, just not enough.
The door was already open. Possibly a sign of someone, possibly just their employer making life easier for them. Skit sniffed the air, his snout sticking out from his hood. There were two people here, both of them seemingly human. One recent arrival, the other a little earlier. Neither had left yet, but he didn't see them anywhere. Skit pushed back his hood and leaned his head back to get a better scent, then he saw her. There was a girl just chilling out up on the rafters. "What're you doing up there?" She could be one of the partners. Or maybe she was a rat (ha), or someone who'd just wandered in. He wasn't going to say anything about the plan. When Nigel showed up to brief them, then he could see if she was on the crew. If she was on the crew, though, she seemed pretty promising for a human. It wasn't an easy climb, getting up to those rafters.
Man, he hated group heists. It meant teaming up with a bunch of weirdos who had even weirder powers who'd probably either try to kill him or enter some sort of one-sided overdramatic rivalry because seriously it seemed every single person in that freaking city had over half their screws loose. And with that small rant, he was ready to refuse the job, but then Jay mentioned it paid more than three times the usual dough, and it was a specific request for him, Darwin Callaghan. Now that was clearly a trap, but he didn't care, as money talks and pride screams. He needed to think it over first, but one hotdog later, he had already taken the case.
He arrived before everyone, wanting to play it safe. Sure, he'd have to sit around for the best part of an hour at least, but it was better than getting shot at or any other unpleasantry. That, and he had brought a cellphone. Emulated pokémon was a good way to kill time. He stopped by a dark corner, sitting down and turning up his invisibility, helped by... well... it being a dark corner. Whoever looked his way wouldn't see a thing, and unless they had super hearing or something, they wouldn't be able to hear the music coming out of his earbuds.
And when he was getting to the second gym, someone arrived. Flying. It was easy to notice movement when you were on a corner and kinda paying attention to the whole thing. Dar saved his game, slowly and quietly putting away the cellphone and the earbuds. He pulled up his red bandana to cover his face, blinking twice to remind himself of his contacts. Dull brown contacts, perfectly unremarkable. He didn't really like hiding his eyes like that, but it sure was better than getting recognized. He still remained invisible though, just watching. There was one more person left.
And when Master Splinter arrived sniffing the air, the kid realized he had left the door open. Oh well, too bad. Dar suddenly remembered everything he had said about group jobs, and they apparently were confirmed in the rat man and the flying girl. He didn't enjoy folks with accurate smelling... or hearing... or anything that could mess up his invisibility. Thankfully that guy... mouse... well, he'd think of him as Jerry. Thankfully Jerry hadn't looked straight at him. Maybe his nose wasn't that good. Or his snout.
"Man, you guys make too much noise." He talked as he emerged from the dark corner, now completely visible. Staying hidden would be a better way to avoid a trap, but if those guys really were his allies, then it wouldn't have been the most polite thing to do. He'd just trust his capacity to escape if it came down to it. He was good at that.
In an effort to stave off the minutes of boredom Charlie fiddled with a loose nail in one of the rafter boards. Her gloves made it difficult but a little more entertaining than watching paint dry. Glancing down, she saw someone shift in the shadows. Slowly she moved to a better position to see the new guy in a hoodie, well it looked like a guy till he pulled his hood back. Holy cow! He’s almost as big as the rats in New York! It was startling when he looked right at her and called her out. Then it was disappointing and Charlie didn’t really care that it was a talking ROUS that had spotted her. So much for her awesome entrance.
Then Houdini decided to step out of the shadows basically doing what she wanted to do. Charlie was starting to think Jump City was a little too crowded in the thief scene. She sighed and swung her legs over the edge of the rafter. “Oh shut it Houdini, no one’s here and cop patrol doesn’t drive by for another half hour,” she sounded a little disheartened. Charlie’s voice was lower than normal, her vocal range was large and it wasn’t hard for her to sound like a different person on cue. It was great for disguising her voice on jobs, she was even great at accents!
“And I’m up here for the vantage point,” she crossed her arms over her chest. This was going to be stupid, she was paired up with a giant rat and a killjoy. Nigel was going to get a talking too when he got here.
“Ah, wonderful! Everyone is here,” said an accented voice as a sharply dressed older man appeared clapping his hands together. Charlie flinched a little in surprise, she hated how he could do that without powers. He could just appear out of nowhere without warning, maybe he really did have powers. “Grim my dear, you do not need a vantage point in this sty. So please come down from there,” he looked back at the other two thieves. Charlie grumbled but floated down from the ceiling without talking back, her feet making no noise as they touched the ground. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a wall.
“Good evening, I see you have all met. Though I believe introductions are in order as well as an assessment of your ‘talents’,” he folded his hands behind his back. Charlie noted how well he managed to look like a Bond villain, one of the high-class ones you didn’t know was a villain till the end of the movie. “If you do not already know, I am Nigel and I am what you may call a fence. Your middle man and the one who gathered you here tonight,” he gestured over to Charlie who’s posture said she wasn’t interested in her partners in the slightest.
She gave a dismissive wave, “I’m Grim. I can fly and Nigel if this ends up like the last time you put me in a group, then we will have words. Possibly fists,” she pointed at the older gentleman who chuckled lightly. “Please forgive her, what she lacks in manners she makes up for in finesse,” he then looked expectantly at the other two thieves while Charlie scoffed.
So that was the source of the other smell. Another human appeared, already throwing shade. Well, Skit could throw it right back. The rat folded his arms, making a point to look unimpressed. "Oh, there you are. I thought I smelled dead weight." It seemed like the guy could turn totally invisible. Not a bad skill to have, but he seemed to lack the people skills to work in a team. Skit was kind of a jerk, he acknowledged that, but he could work with others too. He could be professional if he had to, but others had to play along.
The flying girl seemed much more in the spirit of things. He felt like this was a great team-building exercise, the two of them shading the other guy. Didn't make for great teamwork with him, but oh well. She seemed to be tossing a little shade his way too, but not too much. (Skit had just learned that expression and was super proud of himself.) The rat just shrugged at her. "Not a bad spot. Humans are used to being apex predators, they don't have the instinct to look up." It was something his mom had taught him. Stick to trees and rooftops, ceilings if they're high enough. Most people will just never look that high.
Good thing Nigel came to break it up before things got ugly. The posh old weirdo was his usual bubbly self. A weird attitude for a criminal, but that seemed to be a more common thing here in Jump. Nigel was playing the good facilitator, leading things along. Grim, so that was the flying girl. Skit spoke next. "I'm Skit. I'm trained in infiltration, I have stronger senses of smell and hearing than a human, better night vision, and I can fade into shadows." He had some other tricks too, but those didn't seem as relevant. This was a burglary, not an assassination. At least, as far as he knew.
Woo, already off to a great start. Dar just couldn't understand why everyone apparently enjoyed being generally unpleasant towards him. Such a mystery. "Sorry, I kinda have a personal policy not to get offended by overgrown mice. I'm sure you understand." Now as friendly as he was, he wouldn't take such a low blow from Jerry there and leave it at that, oh no. He had to stand his ground, or the whole team setup would be destroyed. That's how these things worked, he was sure of it. "Yo, did I ever mention the cops? I was having a grand ol' nap back there and your 'flapping your wings around the rafters' thing woke me up, that's all." Then an idea flashed through his mind, and he grinned. "Wait, why are you worried about the cops? You wouldn't happen to be... a criminal, would you?!" He gasped in the most fake manner he could manage, clearly having fun with the whole situation. Granted, his whole "covering his face with a bandanna" thing might weaken his argument even less, but it's not like he cared. He was just strengthening the team's bonds, he was good at that.
And then Nigel showed up. Just as fancy as Jay had described, he seemed like an alright fellow, and he seemed like he knew the girl as well. Grim. Seriously? She called herself GRIM? Dar wondered to himself what was up with Jump City and people clearly trying too hard, but he kept that thought to himself. He too had his younger days of calling himself "Kid Win", after all. "You must be the guy Jay mentioned. Nigel, right?" Apparently they had been friends growing up or something like that, but Dar didn't really pay attention to the backstory. All he knew is that this guy had the big money, and Jay vouched for him. And that was all he needed.
Introductions started, and he ended up being the last to speak. "Tom. You know as in Tom and Jerry, or Major Tom if you're a Bowie fan. Either way... I turn invisible and steal things. That's about it, I guess." He took a moment before speaking up again. Again, he'd be the bigger man. "Look, I really don't want this to be more trouble than it's worth. We're thieves, lone wolves by nature, but we have to work as a team now. So I was hoping we could leave this bad start behind us and put aside our differences, at least for this job. You guys with me?" He was willing to be the one to swallow his pride if it meant a better working team. Sometimes he wondered if he was too magnanimous.
Nigel didn’t seem to like how the three were starting off, yet he only gave a small look of disproval. One that Charlie had seen a few times before, she shied away when it was aimed at her. He was the only person she didn’t want to make angry, so if he was telling her to get along with the others then she would have to. Otherwise, he might make life hard for her as a thief and as a civilian. Getting on Nigel’s bad side was not a smart thing to do.
“I am. If you’re one of Jay’s then you must be an adequate thief,” he said. 'Adequate', that usually meant impressive or notable in Nigel's mind. Charlie knew that Nigel had ‘friends’ in various places, contacts that allowed him to get information and other things. He had told her about Jay before she moved back to the golden state, someone she could contact for jobs and the like. She hadn’t done it yet, Charlie had been busy learning the area since she got here a few days ago. Not to mention attending another private school to humor herself.
She fiddled with her gloves as her partners introduced themselves, giving the illusion she wasn't listening when she was taking in every word. They gave their names but Charlie dubbed them as she thought fit since their names were stupid. Tom? Really? The rat boy was weird already so his name didn't surprise her, but suddenly there’s a Tom in the mix? Nigel was pairing her with Mighty Mouse and a Tomcat, Tom and Jerry, that was just fantastic. What did that make her? The bulldog? Maybe she was one of the birds or something. Either way, she’d be against Tomcat with Mighty Mouse which is how it seemed they were turning out, not exactly great for team building. She hated being told what to do but 'Tom' did have a point.
“Splendid and I couldn’t agree more with you Tom, please keep a relatively positive relationship with each other. This mission requires you three to trust one another for at least the night," Nigel pulled a folder from the inside of his suit. “If everyone is in agreement then I’d like to talk about what you’ll be taking tonight,” he walked over to an old table still standing a little ways away from the giant hole in the floor. Setting the folder down, he opened it revealing floor plans and various pictures.
Charlie floated over, “Fine. I guess I can get along for the night,” she looked over at the other two. “Plus this crew isn't the worst in the world, you two are definitely interesting to say the least. Tomcat and Mighty Mouse, guess that makes me Tweety Bird?” Though her grin couldn’t be seen under her half skull bandana the tone of her voice was playful. She landed next to the table and swiped one of the photos Nigel had, looking it over before the older man snapped it back with a small 'tsk'.
This guy was really getting on Skit's nerves. He had a few family members like this, the types that didn't really know anything, didn't want to, but just acted snarky and negative so they'd seem more worldly. It annoyed him to no end. Sure, he was snarky sometimes, but only when there was good reason to be. This guy was just throwing it around everywhere. That, and he was pretty blatantly covering up his own mistakes with it. Well, trying. Skit doubted he was fooling anyone. He tried to ignore it as best he could.
It was kind of satisfying to hear Nigel call the mouthy one "adequate." It wasn't the most flattering term to use. The flier seemed less amused than he was, though. She knew Nigel from way back, Skit was a more recent addition to his stable. What did she know that he didn't? He'd have to keep an eye out, you never knew what the deal was with some of these people.
Skit gave Tom the side-eye. So he was acting like they were the problem now? "I can do that just fine if you stop going outta your way to bother us." He wasn't planning on letting him get away with pawning his flaws off on everyone else. Grimm was a bit more forgiving, turning the whole thing into a name joke. Skit chuckled a bit at that one. He'd seen a few cartoons since coming to town, he knew enough to get the joke.
"I can work with a team, sure." He wasn't too keen on one of his teammates, but he could manage. As long as Tom didn't pull anything catastrophically stupid, he was pretty sure he'd be able to get out of this in one piece, and maybe even handle the job himself if he had to. "So, what's the job?" Tweety Grimm had already got a sneak peek, but she wasn't telling. Nigel seemed a bit annoyed with her antics, but not enough to comment on it.
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Alviss: Darn doesn't show the pic
Apr 18, 2019 7:10:17 GMT -6
force: miss this place. if anyone comes back and sees this, i'm force, i was kid flash here once. you can find me on discord at rook#9485
Jan 12, 2023 13:11:35 GMT -6
The roleplay takes place after the series end of the original Teen Titans animated show, but does not include the movie Trouble in Tokyo. Since then Robin has been on something of a recruiting spree, and many new young heroes have found themselves a home in Jump City as well as Titan Tower.
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